Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Black History Month Explained: Its Origins, Celebrations and Myths
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 weeks ago on
February 1, 2025

Explore the rich history, evolving celebrations, and enduring significance of Black History Month in America. (AP File)

Share

WASHINGTON – Beginning Feb. 1, schools, museums and communities across the nation will mark the start of Black History Month –- a celebration of Black history, culture and education.

The history of the month dates back almost a century, and the way it is celebrated and evolved has created history in itself.

The Origins of the Month

Black History Month wasn’t always a monthlong celebration. In February 1926, historian and author Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week. It was a weeklong celebration in an effort to teach people about African-American history and the contributions of Black people.

This effort was made under the umbrella of an organization he founded in September 1915 called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH.

“I think Black folks understood what they had contributed to America’s historical narrative, but no one was talking about it,” said Kaye Whitehead, the organization’s president. “No one was centralizing it until Dr. Carter G. Woodson was in 1926.”

After he passed away in 1950, the members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which Dr. Woodson was a member of, did a lot of groundwork to encourage celebrating the week. The fraternity was also responsible for the push to extend the celebrations to a full month. Eventually, in 1976, President Gerald Ford became the first president to issue a message recognizing the month.

Since then, presidents have made annual proclamations for National Black History Month, a tradition that President Donald Trump plans to continue, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Celebrating Black History

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History releases a theme for each year, which is a practice Woodson started.

This year’s theme is African Americans and Labor. The organization plans to use the month, and the rest of the year, focusing on the role of Black labor in building the nation through industry or community work.

Black history is also celebrated within communities and families. Worth K. Hayes, an associate professor of history and Africana studies at Morehouse College, said some families may use the month to explore their genealogy, learn about their ancestors or come together to eat a meal and make family trees.

“We may be more familiar with the more public ways, but there are also a lot more intimate ways in which these messages are spread and the way that the holiday is propagated,” Hayes said.

At some schools, assemblies or gatherings are held to honor Black leaders, according to the nonpartisan organization the Center for Racial Justice in Education.

“Some schools invite elders to share their wisdom and lived experiences, allowing young people to learn from them, ask questions, and build meaningful connections across generations,” the center said in an email to The Associated Press. “Additionally, some communities select specific topics or principles for in-depth exploration during the month.”

Debunking Myths About Black History Month

Myths around Black History Month continue, Whitehead said, including the idea that the U.S. government purposely chose the shortest month of the year. In reality, Woodson chose February because two prominent figures in the civil rights movement — Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass — had birthdays in the week he chose.

Whitehead also stresses that Black history shouldn’t just be taught for the month of February, but rather taught and celebrated for the entire year.

Celebrities, including actor Morgan Freeman, have criticized it being just a monthlong celebration. But Hayes argued that the month isn’t just about celebrating African-American history, but Black history as a whole.

“I think that there is this desire to make this point that African-American history or Black history is so integral to the American story, American history,” Hayes said. “But that reduces Black history to African-American history, and that’s not how it is and is celebrated from its origins to this day … So if you’re talking about Black History Month, you’re not only talking about Nat Turner, you’re also talking about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution. You’re talking about many of the women and men who led the independence movements on the African continent.”

Whitehead added that Black history is not just for Black people, it is for all people.

“If you’re in an environment and everybody in the environment is white, you need Black History Month more than ever because you need to understand that the world, even though you like to believe it fits into this box, it does not,” Whitehead said.

Black history doesn’t rely on a presidential proclamation, Whitehead and others said. Whitehead said Black people don’t need permission to mark the month.

“It doesn’t happen because we’re waiting for a statement to be released. We proclaim it, We celebrate it, we uplift, we center it and we help people to understand that this is our history,” she said.

The Future of Black History Month

At least one government agency has paused celebrations of cultural or historic events, including Black History Month. But at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the decisions of the new Trump administration around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives will not affect how Black History Month is celebrated.

“Negro History Week started in 1926 without any proclamation from anyone other than the people,” said ASALH executive director Sylvia Cyrus. “The president of the United States has his views, and certainly we assume that he understands the contributions that African Americans and other people of color have made.”

A White House spokesperson has said that they intend to celebrate the month.

Some believe how Black history is taught could be affected by the new administration’s outlook on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.

The Center for Racial Justice in Education said educators may be more encouraged to teach Black history in their classrooms throughout the year. “Resistance takes many inspiring forms, and those dedicated to celebrating this essential history are employing creative and strategic approaches to share and further develop it,” the organization said in an email.

Hayes agreed and said it could encourage others to teach communities about the contributions of Black people.

“African Americans, Black folks throughout the world, just like all cultures throughout the world, have taken ownership of their history,” he said. “And these various political developments may shape the contours of it. But this story is going to be told regardless of the political dynamics of the particular time.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

DON'T MISS

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

DON'T MISS

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

DON'T MISS

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

DON'T MISS

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

DON'T MISS

DOJ Seeks to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

US Deports Immigrants to Venezuela After Judge Blocked Transfer to Guantanamo Bay

DON'T MISS

Abortions To Resume In Missouri After A Judge Blocks Restrictions

DON'T MISS

Legislative Immunity: A Privilege in Most States—Lawmaker’s Speeding Ticket May Change That

DON'T MISS

Trump’s EPA Reforms Cast Doubt on Toxic Site Cleanups

UP NEXT

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

UP NEXT

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

UP NEXT

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

UP NEXT

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

UP NEXT

DOJ Seeks to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

UP NEXT

US Deports Immigrants to Venezuela After Judge Blocked Transfer to Guantanamo Bay

UP NEXT

Abortions To Resume In Missouri After A Judge Blocks Restrictions

UP NEXT

Legislative Immunity: A Privilege in Most States—Lawmaker’s Speeding Ticket May Change That

UP NEXT

Trump’s EPA Reforms Cast Doubt on Toxic Site Cleanups

UP NEXT

Rwanda-Backed Rebels Advance in Eastern Congo, Thousands Flee

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

15 hours ago

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

16 hours ago

DOJ Seeks to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

17 hours ago

US Deports Immigrants to Venezuela After Judge Blocked Transfer to Guantanamo Bay

17 hours ago

Abortions To Resume In Missouri After A Judge Blocks Restrictions

17 hours ago

Legislative Immunity: A Privilege in Most States—Lawmaker’s Speeding Ticket May Change That

17 hours ago

Trump’s EPA Reforms Cast Doubt on Toxic Site Cleanups

17 hours ago

Rwanda-Backed Rebels Advance in Eastern Congo, Thousands Flee

17 hours ago

Kyle Larson Eyes Elusive Daytona 500 Win After Hot Start to 2025

17 hours ago

White South Africans Rally for Trump, Claim Racism Victimhood

17 hours ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

Imagine a world where your brain activity could be translated into text without lifting a finger. Sounds like the plot of a Black Mirror epi...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

13 hours ago

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

13 hours ago

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

15 hours ago

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

16 hours ago

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

17 hours ago

DOJ Seeks to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

17 hours ago

US Deports Immigrants to Venezuela After Judge Blocked Transfer to Guantanamo Bay

17 hours ago

Abortions To Resume In Missouri After A Judge Blocks Restrictions

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend